What is the Tomatometer®?

The Tomatometer rating – based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics – is a trusted measurement of movie and TV programming quality for millions of moviegoers. It represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show.

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Fresh

The Tomatometer is 60% or higher.

Rotten

The Tomatometer is 59% or lower.

Certified Fresh

Movies and TV shows are Certified Fresh with a steady Tomatometer of 75% or higher after a set amount of reviews (80 for wide-release movies, 40 for limited-release movies, 20 for TV shows), including 5 reviews from Top Critics.

A true gem of a movie. and one of the most underated films of the 90's. Great performances all round. Not to be missed. Its about a couple of mates who loose a game of poker I seem to remember, and they dont have enough cash to cover the debt. So instead they agree to finish bulding a wall in the garden of the guy's house, and unbeknown to them they become prisoner and it all turns nasty.

Incredibly interesting, but dark and weird and cold and full of symbols and stuff I probably wouldn't figure out in a million years. Two people, aimlessly drifting through life, meet each other and decide to win some money at a poker game against a couple of rich guys who one of them beat many years before...but that's only the first half hour of the film, and things get much stranger after that.

This is that rare beast, a film that's just as good as the book it's based on (by Paul Auster, who makes a cameo appearance at the end as the driver who gives Mandy Patinkin a lift). Patinkin and James Spader couldn't be bettered as the two men who are forced to build a wall to pay off their gambling debts. Beyond that, it's pretty hard to describe - nothing much happens, but it's the way in which the two men develop an almost brotherly relationship that matters: it gives the film a great emotional depth and warmth. There are some pleasingly sinister undercurrents at work too, and some memorable photography and music.

An interesting curate's egg of a film. The performances are superb, from a gallery of character actors who any film lover would die to see together. But the movie is flat. It plays like a literary conceit. On film. The story does not convince. The narrative moves not because of character development, but because there is a "point" to be made about luck, freedom, and addiction. The film never rises above the level of being a muddlesome puzzle.

But then, how often do you get to see Mandy Pantinkin flex dramatic muscles? When was the last time you could enjoy the grace of Joel Grey? Have you seen M. Emmet Walsh in a meaty role of more than half a movie recently? And won't you want to see the best performance of James Spader - bar none? These are not insignificant pleasures and all to be had in this film. However, it does not surprise me that Philip Haas did not go on to a particularly distinguished career as a director.

No matter how many times i see it i always enjoy it. It's not perfect - the narrative doesn't always quite satisfy and the ending is perhaps too pat but the characterisations and performances are all brilliant and once you meet Messrs. Flower and Stone once you won't ever forget them. Not usually mentioned as one of the indie 'greats' of the 90's but i think it definitely is and it has a timeless quality that i think will serve it well critically in the coming decades.

This is the worst movie I've ever seen, possibly the worst ever made. I saw it well over ten years ago but when asked what my least favorite movie is, this is always the first one that comes to mind. It's boring, it's creepy, it's a screaming waste of an hour and a half that you will never get back. And trust me, it does not feel like an hour and a half. The movie drags so badly, I swear it had to have been on more than one tape. (Yes, it was on VHS when I saw it, that long ago, lol.) I cannot express here just how deeply my loathing for this movie runs, it is the type of thing I would inflict on people as a cruel and unusual punishment. If I had a time machine and was only allowed to change one event of the past, I would seriously consider preventing the making of this movie, that or killing everyone involved before they were born.

WOW - there really should be more reviews of this movie.This is truly a movie that I had NO IDEA where it was going to lead me in the next few minutes. Spader is simply amazing and intriguing - and you just start wondering if these normal people are stuck in some sort of metaphysical hell.Complete character piece and worth your 90 minutes.